Building a Strategy for Your Design Portfolio

Roberto Blake

Your graphic design portfolio is the single most important marketing asset you will have in your career as a designer. With that in mind, you have to position your portfolio to align with your goals. This is more involved that just filling it with enough pieces or your best work. A graphic design portfolio has to market you effectively based on who you are presenting it to and what skills you need to showcase, based on the work you want to do going forward.

Consider the following questions when developing your portfolio strategy:

• What role or position are you applying for?
• Who will be reviewing the portfolio?
  HR personnel? Creative Director? Marketing Manager? C-Level Executives? Business Owners?
• Does your current body of work reflect the skills required for this role?
• How will your portfolio be presented in most cases?
• How will your online portfolio be discovered?

What Role or Position are You Applying For?

You need to consider what the job role is and what your responsibilities will be. While this might seem obvious, many designers will use a very general portfolio, even when applying for a position as a specialist. Often the reason is not having enough work or a strong enough body of work for that one particular specialty.

If you have a range of skills, try to balance out your options and position yourself so you can present 12-20 pieces for each skill. Consider making individual digital portfolios for each of your skills so that anyone searching online to fill that particularly need, can view your work in the context of what they are focused on.

When presenting a portfolio via email to a client that needs a specialist or an employer, this can also help them understand whether you are a good fit, and realize that you have enough work to qualify you. Depth is important, and volume translates to depth when it comes to a portfolio.

Who Will Be Reviewing Your Design Portfolio?

The overall portfolio should convey your skills in a meaningful and consistent way regardless of who is reviewing it. With that in mind you may want to still have a sense of who will be reviewing the portfolio and adapt it accordingly. For example, if you know it will be reviewed by someone with a background in design, such as a Creative Director and Art Director, you know that they will appreciate seeing strong typography.

When presenting to individuals who are more business oriented, remember that they may be more interested in seeing campaigns or branding work. Understand your audience, anticipate their needs, and accommodate them.

Does Your Current Body of Work Reflect the Position?

Execution is important to anyone sitting in the hiring chair. They need to see that you can produce the results they are looking for. If you’re going to work at an agency that does a lot of work in out-of-home advertising (OOH), then showing work that conveys you have print production skills is ideal.

Context is also important to keep in mind. If you’re applying to a digital position, it may be okay to present some of your work in a print portfolio, but showcasing some digital assets on an iPad or laptop will help them see your work in the exact way it will be conveyed to a customer or client.

You should also consider the audience a potential employer or client is trying to reach.

Your work may be stunning, but is it the type of work necessary to reach their target audience?

Have you shown enough range in your work to make them confident that you can adapt your style and abilities to reach their audience?

This is why it is important to do self-initiated work that allows you to have some options in building a portfolio that is appropriate to multiple hiring scenarios, or even multiple portfolios if necessary.

How Will Your Portfolio Be Presented?

Who is looking at your portfolio is important, but how they are viewing it is equally important. Did they find your website? Was your portfolio emailed as a PDF? Are you presenting in person using a tablet or a print book? How you plan to present your portfolio matters, and can dictate your approach to layout and design.

If you plan to leverage digital platforms for your portfolio, you need to account for the fact your portfolio will be viewed on a wide-format screen. If you’re presenting it as a print book, are you going with at traditional vertical format or will you go wide to be consistent with your digital presence?

If you’re emailing a PDF, you should consider taking advantage of the ability to include hyperlinks that will take them to your website to see more examples or something that make sense contextually.

How Will Your Online Portfolio Be Discovered?

Having an online portfolio is a reality today. However it is not enough to allow your online portfolio just sit there and not generate any interest. Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can help, but it is not nearly enough on its own. You need to leverage online portfolio platforms where Art Directors, Creative Directors, and Art Department heads are likely to look for new talent. These sites include Behance and DeviantArt among others.

Social Media is also an important factor. You should leverage networking social media platforms like LinkedIn and Google Plus, but you should also look at visually driven platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. One connection, one person who is interested in your work, could lead to a life-changing opportunity.

If you have questions about portfolio strategies and how to market yourself as a Creative Professional, feel free to ask questions in the comment section!